Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

Emmerdale Gabby Thomas star's life off-screen – love life, tragic loss and very different look

Emmerdale's Gabby Thomas has been part of our lives for decades but was only played by Rosie Bentham in 2016.

Gabby first made an appearance on Christmas Day in 2001 and was played by Annelise Manojlovic. However, Rosie took over the role in 2016 and hasn't looked back since.

The character is the daughter of Ashley Thomas and Bernice Blackstock and has been through many storylines such as her mother coming in and out of her life and dealing with her father and stepmother's breakup and reconciliation.

She also learned her father had dementia and died and went on to go through a rebellious phase before becoming a teen mother.

The actress' life off-screen is far from her character's hectic life on the ITV show, with Rosie sharing glimpses of what she gets up to with fans online.

Rosie is the youngest of four kids and previously said her hero is her mother, Marianne.

Love Life

Rosie recently shared details about her love life and it seems that the star is single.

The 21-year-old admitted that her character's relationships and romances haven't helped her in real life.

Sometimes, people only talk to her because they want to know more about her character.

Rosie told Mirror earlier this year: "The biggest red flag is when someone says to me, 'So, tell me what’s going to happen next'.

"It’s obvious at that point they’re not interested in me, they’re just trying to get spoilers out of me.

"It’s nice if someone says, 'Oh, my gran watches it' – but I don’t think many 21-year-old boys are genuinely interested in watching soaps."

Friendships

Rosie's character, Gabby, isn't close to Amelia Spencer on the soap but it's a whole different story off-screen.

Daisy Campbell, who plays Amelia, and Rosie are constantly seen together on each other's social media profiles.

Rosie and Daisy are close friends in real life (Instagram/rosie_bentham)
The two recently shared snaps from their Paris trip (Instagram)

The duo recently enjoyed a baking class together and shared sweet pictures online.

Before that, they jetted off to Paris to enjoy a mini break together. Both stars shared aesthetically-pleasing pictures of their holiday on their own pages.

One picture had them posing in front of the Eiffel Tower and others included snaps of the pair enjoying the architecture, delicious food and desserts the city has to offer.

Tragic Loss

A week before her 18th birthday in 2019 Rosie's father, John, tragically died of a pulmonary embolism, which is a blood clot in the lungs.

"I just couldn’t believe it because he hadn’t been ill beforehand," she explained.

Rosie's dad died a week before her 18th birthday (Rosie Bentham)

"I got angry because I couldn’t understand why and how it had happened. I can remember saying 'No, no, no'."

She hoped that sharing her own experiences of grief will help other people going through the same thing, as she added: "I don’t mind if people ask me about memories of my dad because I’ve got so many lovely ones."

Last year, she admitted that going to work and seeing her castmates helped her grieve the loss of her father.

Rosie said: "I was doing the whole playing grief and then the next minute I’m actually grieving. Everyone was there for me and I had some time off. I had a text from the cast to see how I was.

"Work was a saving grace in the sense there was something I still loved to do and was passionate about. Grieving can go wrong for teenagers."

Different Look

Rosie looks completely different from her character on the soap.

Gabby takes on a more mature look with her outfits, including smart blazers and button-up tops and simple jackets.

Rosie's style in real life is a lot different (Instagram/ @rosie_bentham)
She wears a lot more colour than her character does (WireImage)

However, Rosie is a little more adventurous and always shares her glam outings with fans.

The actress rocks a lot of summer dresses that show off her incredible curves.

Rosie also prefers to wear more colour than her on-screen counterpart, who usually goes for brown, black and grey.

* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.